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Friday, September 17, 2010

Mincemeat Tart with Apple and Streusel Topping

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It stands to reason that those who make and preserve mincemeat would have plans to use it. That's pretty much the case here, save for this one tart. I never plan to make it, but it always ends up on our table, You see, Bob and I are of two minds when it comes to desserts like this. He loves them and I don't. Don't get me wrong, I love mincemeat, but I have a barely sweet tooth and find this particular pie almost treacly in its sweetness. I snipped the recipe from Family Circle magazine some thirty years ago, but I suspect is roots are firmly planted in the kitchens of Mennonite and Amish communities. On reflection, it is very much like the Funeral Pie I featured here several months ago. Over the years, less and less mincemeat seems to make it into the jars that are sold for the holidays. There was a time when a jar could make a lovely 9-inch pie, but when you shave an ounce here and an ounce there, pies that are suppose to celebrate abundance get mighty stingy. I'm convinced that the apples and streusel that are piled onto this tart were devised to camouflage the scant amount of filling in the pie shell. The original recipe called for piling apples onto the mincemeat and then covering them with streusel. It was a bit of a mess to look at , so I decided to use spirals of overlapping apple slices and less of the streusel topping. It's still awfully sweet , too sweet for my tastes, but at least it looks more planned and festive. I use two, rather than the three, apples called for in the original recipe and I cut the streusel ingredients in half. Those among you who love mincemeat and highly sweetened desserts will love this tart. Here's the recipe.

46 comments
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Hi Mary, sorry for not visiting your blog for quite a while as I was busying helping my sister settle with her husband funeral matters. But now I back for blogging, will drop by more often. Your apple streusel sound really delicious..

There are times when a really sweet dessert is called for - and we love mincemeat and apples. When I was growing up my mum always made her own mincemeat and we each had to stir the concoction in the crock. There was nothing in a jar that could compare with the taste of that mince meat in my mum's pie crust!

Mincemeat pie was always super sweet at my Grammi's house too! Like you, I prefer my desserts on the lighter side...I would probably take a simple apple over the mincemeat. But this sure does look beautiful!

I seldom make savory tarts, somehow I always associate tarts with the sweet fillings and ended up making sweet tarts. I must change that perception. Your tart definitely looks good, I would love this since it's sweet:D

After determining (when much older) that my grandmother wasn't trying to kill me by serving mincemeat pie, I came to especially like it in a bar cookie-Hermit Bars--and finally to like it baked up in a pie. I'm not sure about the addition of apples but it certainly looks good.

I know the British really love mincemeat, but I've never been tempted. I'm not much for all that candied fruit but I'm really tempted to try this one with apples. What a lovely looking pie, Mary.Perhaps this is the year to make my own mincemeat and give it another chance?

You are too right about the mincemeat jars getting smaller and smaller! It seems that most purchased pie fillings are looking too small to use. For the most part I make my own, but I do find myself feeling really bad for those unknowing bakers who don't realize that they should purchase two jars of something. Nice post.

Dear Mary - Please forgive my noticeable absence from your blog but I have been moving and my world has been spinning.

Now that I can finally catch a breath, let me just say that this is wonderful though I have never purchased mincemeat except for the holidays and using it in a pie over apples is delish. So different to the thick syrupy sugar coating as in most pies.

I might have to agree with you about this being too sweet...I've never had mincemeat. It's always sounded strange to me. In fact, it's only recently I realized it was sweet and not savory. The apples on the top are very pretty, though. Nicely done :)

Thank you for stopping by CWK and your sweet comment...brought smiles and encouragement. Mincemeat is a real favorite of mine and I am always looking for new recipes to make with this uneventful ingredient that so many people see it as. Blessings, K

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